There have been times in MMA where fans have been "treated" to fights that have not only failed to deliver, but became a cure for insomnia. Frank Mir v. Cro Cop was undoubtedly one of these fights. Frank and Mirko should have delivered. It was so simple. Either Mirko kicked Frank's head into the 25th row or Frank used some of his paycheck to pay an additional bag fee to fly home one of Mirko's limbs. Of course, what we got was 14 minutes of hugging, timid striking and condolences from Joe Rogan. Then Frank KO'd Cro Cop with a sloppy knee and all I could think was, "thank God it's over."
The Main Event is the finale. It is the last thing the audience sees and it can either send you home thrilled (Silva v. Sonnen) or pissed (Mir v. Cro Cop). It has the potential to either save or ruin an event. To be the fitting culmination of an epic night or a rotten taste in the fan's collective mouths. Thankfully, the UFC Heavyweight Division is about to be redeemed at UFC 121.
At UFC 121 Brock Lesnar will be attempting to set the record for UFC Heavyweight Title defenses that he currently shares with Tim Sylvia and Randy Couture, against the undefeated AKA product, Cain Velasquez. Brock is fresh off his 2nd round submission of Shane Carwin and Cain was last seen turning Big Nog's lights completely out in Australia.
Lesnar has not been in a boring fight in his career. Some may find his 3 round bludgeoning of Heath Herring to be boring and that is perfectly acceptable. I happen to enjoy a good dismantling. With devastating power, a smothering top game and incredible quickness Lesnar makes every fight a must watch.
Cain Velasquez has been brought along slowly in his UFC career. While Brock was thrown straight to the wolves, Cain has been allowed to fight low-mid tier fighters while improving his game. Cain showed he was ready for the upper echelon when he KO'd Noguiera. Now he gets his chance to derail the Brock Lesnar train and put the stamp down that he is the best heavyweight in the UFC and maybe in the world.
To me, this is Brock's fight to lose. He will have 30lbs on Cain when they step into the cage and his control on the ground coupled with the size advantage is a lot to overcome. Cain's only hope is to knock Lesnar out on their feet. The problem with that is that Brock Lesnar just took the best shots that the heaviest hitter in the division could dish out and walked out of the cage the champ. Cain Velasquez's power is not even in the same realm as Carwin's. Cain also has opposite cardio of Shane, but it turns out that is a good thing since Shane showed us his cardio would have fit in great with the cast of TUF 10.
This fight will not be boring. It will not disappoint. These two are both fantastic wrestlers but Brock has fought two high caliber wrestlers already in Carwin and Couture. The only wrestler Cain has fought in MMA is Jake O'Brien. Will this matter or will Cain's stand up game make the wrestling aspect a moot point? One thing is for sure, nobody will be kicking themselves for buying the PPV when the credits roll.
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